


let us step out into the night

by goreds



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Expanse (TV), The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23452813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goreds/pseuds/goreds
Summary: The characters of The Expanse at Hogwarts, over the years.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

Sadavir Errinwright swallows nervously as he looks at the bricks which a brown-skinned girl just dashed through, with her parents right on her heels. His parents aren't there; his mother, a former witch, is in an asylum, and his father, with no magic, hates his wizard son. So Sadavir shows up, all of eleven, to Diagon Alley, where a Hogwarts prefect acts as his guide. He has the cheapest broom; a pet toad and all the books he was instructed he would need. Oh, and a wand, which is his favorite part.

Even if he is terrified of all of this. His mother never told him of his magical heritage, and his father certainly wouldn't. But the letter came, and his father was going to ship him off to boarding school anyway, so to Hogwarts he was being sent. (Truthfully, he also got a letter from Durmstrang, and his father was mightily tempted, but Sadavir begged not to go to the scary-sounding school in the middle of Europe.)

Hogwarts it was. Sadavir gripped the handle of his cart and raced towards the brick platform, wincing as he went. But he doesn't smack into the brick wall. He makes it through. The first thing he sees is the gleaming engine of the Hogwarts Express. An invisible porter takes away his luggage, and he stumbles onto the train, following other children of various ages and sizes.

Sadavir finds a seat next to a boy with bright blonde hair, but dull eyes. The boy immediately introduces himself. "Hullo, I'm Esteban! What's your name?"

Sadavir already feels shy, shyer than he usually is. "Sadavir," he just mutters.

"Oh, golly, that's a cool name. I got my name from me mum, she's a wizard from Mexico, and my dad's a wizard from Ireland!" Esteban seems very proud of the fact that both his parents are wizards. "How about you?"

"Um...my mother's a witch. My dad doesn't have magic."

"Oh, a muggle! Interesting."

"What's a...muggle?" Sadavir's confused. He's already heard so many words today which make no sense to his ears.

"A muggle's a human with no magic. Your mum's a witch and your dad's a muggle, which makes you a half-blood. I'm a pure-blood," and Esteban seems even prouder of _that_ fact.

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, ignore him," a lower voice than Esteban's pops up, but definitely feminine. Sadavir turns. It's the brown-skinned girl who had no fear of going through the wall into platform 9 3/4. She sticks out her hand to Sadavir, who shakes it. "Chrisjen Avasarala. I'm a pure-blood too, but you won't hear me bragging about it, unlike _some_ people. I didn't catch your name."

"Sadavir. Sadavir Errinwright."

"Oh, that's an interesting name. Sadavir, from Indian origin, meaning 'ever courageous'. And Errinwright...?"

"I'm from England, both my parents are. My mother just thought Sadavir was a cool name."

"My parents combined their names to make mine. It comes from nowhere. I kinda hate it."

"I think it's pretty."

"Oooh, he thinks it's pretty," Esteban taunts from the side, clearly sulking because of Chrisjen's earlier put-down.

"Shut up, Esteban, or I'll make you shut up like I did at your parents' party this summer." Chrisjen looks ready to fight.

Esteban huffs off to another car. Chrisjen plops down across from Sadavir, looking smug.

"Finally, he's gone. I thought he'd never leave."

"You know him?"

"Yeah, the Avasaralas and the Sorrento-Gillises have been friends since our parents went to Hogwarts together. Did your mom go to Hogwarts?"

"Beauxbatons, actually."

"Oh, really. That's interesting. She must be very elegant. I'd never fit in there."

"She was...I mean, she is." Sadavir feels sad. His mother should've been there to see him off.

Chrisjen seems to pick up on Sadavir's hesitance around discussing his mother. "So, ever courageous, huh? Bet you're a Gryffindor."

"A Gryffin-what?"

Chrisjen rolls her eyes a little. "Oh, you sweet baby. There are four houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, the best house; Hufflepuff, the nice one; Ravenclaw, the smart ones; and Slytherin, the house my whole family is in and the one I'll probably be in, except I'd much rather be a Gryffindor."

"What makes Gryffindor the best?"

"They're brave and courageous. They're also the best at Quidditch. And dueling. And winning House cups."

"What's a--"

"A House cup is the big prize at the end of the school year. Quidditch is a sport we play on brooms. I assume you know what dueling is."

"Yes."

"Well, they're just the best. Slytherins are creepy, and we...well, _they_ live in the basement, basically." Chrisjen scrunches up her nose.

"That doesn't sound very nice."

"It's not. I really hope the Sorting Hat thinks differently of me than everyone else does."

Sadavir's blank look prompts another explanation.

"The Sorting Hat is an enchanted hat that tells you what house you belong in. He's fun. You might like him. I dunno, some kids are scared of him."

A blonde girl stops by their compartment. "Hello," she says with a slight Russian accent. "I'm Anna Volovodov. What're your names?"

Chrisjen introduces the two of them. "I'm Chrisjen Avasarala, and this is my new friend, Sadavir Errinwright. Would you like to join us?"

"Actually, I was looking for Esteban...he said he'd be in this compartment."

"Oh, he went to some other car. He was in a bit of a mood," Chrisjen shakes her head as if she had nothing to do with Esteban's bad mood. Anna nods and goes off in another direction.

Sadavir's mesmerized by Chrisjen as she explains everything he needs to know about Hogwarts.

"I'll be your guide," she says, with a wide smile.

And somehow, Sadavir thinks this will all be okay. He's still as nervous as he was, and his stomach's full of butterflies, but whether that's the excitement of arriving at Hogwarts or the new friend he's made is anyone's guess.

No, Sadavir Errinwright is finally going someplace where he's wanted, and he can't help but feel excited about that.


	2. The Sorting Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the biggest Hogwarts ceremony of them all.

Chrisjen had heard about the wonder of the Sorting Hat ceremony and the Great Hall, but she hadn't really believed her parents. It couldn't have possibly been as grand as they remembered it.

But it was. Oh, it was incredible. The floating tapers, the singing frog, the heaps of food, all the legendary Hogwarts professors at the front of the room, The Sorting Hat. Oh, the Sorting Hat. Chrisjen had waited so long to meet him, in the hopes that he wouldn't place her where everyone said she would end up...Slytherin House. She had prayed, and hoped, and dreamed, that she would end up in Gryffindor, where she belonged. Her name was surely one of the first to be called if this was to be alphabetical. She was terrified.

Dumbledore made his speech, and Chrisjen didn't really pay attention during most of it, occasionally glancing across the table at Sadavir, who also looked nervous, but a different kind of nervous. He doesn't know about any of this, she marveled. What kind of wizard parents wouldn't tell their kid about the wonders of the magical world?

A few kids' names were called, a few Slytherins, another few Ravenclaws, one or two Hufflepuffs. No Gryffindors, yet.

"Chrisjen Avasarala!" Dumbledore's voice boomed across the hall.

Chrisjen bolted up, terrified. This was it. Her fate for the next seven years.

The Sorting Hat was placed on her head. _Why, Ms. Avasarala, I've seen many of your family before--_

_Please don't put me where you put them--_

_Not Slytherin? But with your cunning and ambition, you'd be a perfect fit! And after all, your whole family has come from that great house--_

_Not so great,_ she grouses.

_And that is why you belong there, Ms. Avasarala. A Gryffindor does not judge with abandon, or at least they shouldn't. But you judge freely and not fairly, which makes you a perfect..._

_No!_

"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat shouts. Chrisjen feels like she's going to burst into tears. But she doesn't. She keeps her head high and hopes that Sadavir will end up with her, no matter what she predicted. And that Esteban doesn't end up in Slytherin. That too.

The Slytherins acknowledge her, a lowly first-year, as she sits at the table. A few names pop by, like Anderson Dawes, a red-headed boy with a mischievous smile that reminds her of Dumbledore's own wry twinkle, gets sorted into Ravenclaw, which he seems disappointed by.

Then it's Sadavir's turn...he goes up to the Sorting Hat shyly, with Dumbledore resting the old hat on his auburn hair. Sadavir and the Sorting Hat seem to be discussing his options, and Sadavir looks over at Chrisjen desperately. But then the Sorting Hat makes his choice...and from Sadavir's face, with not much input from him. "Gryffindor!"

Chrisjen rubs her eyes a little at that, daring tears to fall. Sadavir shrugs apologetically in Chrisjen's direction before going to sit down with the Gryffindors.

Fred Johnson, another Ravenclaw _. Good for him,_ Chrisjen growls. At this point, she'd happily be in Ravenclaw. Just anything but Slytherin.

Jules-Pierre Mao, another pure-blood. Ravenclaw, of course. He was the smartest kid in their class, a bonafide genius, some said.

Arjun Rao, a bookish boy with a similar skin tone to her own, gets sorted into Hufflepuff. He seems perfectly content.

Then...it's Esteban's turn. His whole family is Gryffindors, Chrisjen realizes. Poor Sadavir. Gryffindor is easily called, and Esteban smugly steps away from the hat, making sure to catch Chrisjen's eye.

That Russian girl goes towards the end...Anna, Chrisjen thinks, was her name. She's a Gryffindor, which surprises Chrisjen to no end. Anna seemed shy and bookish, either a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff.

A few kids later, and it's over. Chrisjen walks over to the Gryffindor table before the Slytherins can shepherd the first-years down to the basement, although they call it the "dungeon". Chrisjen looks at Sadavir, helpless. He puts a hand on her arm. "It'll be okay. There seem to be some cool kids in there. And we'll see each other in class." The boy doesn't seem nearly as nervous as he had been.

Chrisjen feels as if all his nerves had been passed onto her. This was not what she had wanted, not what she had intended. She wanted, she now realized, to be in any house other than Slytherin, and she really should've argued with the Sorting Hat for longer, not that the Sorting Hat seemed very receptive to student arguments this year.

No, this had been a short ceremony, she overheard the older Slytherins saying. One of them eyed her and laughed. "The Avasarala girl was the longest one up there!"

"What, you don't wanna be here, with us?" A bigger Slytherin towers over her. Chrisjen says nothing, going blank-faced. She'd go to bed, she'd wake up, and in the day, this would all be so much brighter.

She hopes. She prays, she wishes.

But that's what Chrisjen had done before the Sorting Hat ceremony. And look where that had got her.

In the dungeons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, told you more familiar characters would show up! Dumbledore is here because Dumbledore is a constant, I feel.


	3. The First Night

Jules-Pierre Mao curls up in his bed. Ravenclaw Tower, he quickly learns, is cold at night. He chose a room with the red-headed boy with the strange (certainly not Irish or English or Welsh or Scottish) accent and the serious black boy. The two became fast friends, and they were now chattering well into the night. Jules-Pierre wants to tell them to shut up, but he’s too scared of the two of them to say anything.

Jules-Pierre is a small boy and not much in a physical fight, although he is certain he could best any other first-year intellectually. For example, most of them probably don’t know the word “intellectually,” or at the very least, the proper way to use it.

Jules-Pierre squeezes his eyes shut and tries to go to sleep and eventually does, but only to the sound of the red-headed boy’s strange, wheezy laugh.

* * *

Chrisjen finds the dungeons a damp, dank place. She finds herself in a dormitory with two other Slytherin first-years who she doesn’t know and doesn’t care to know. They are both silent, shy people who go to sleep quickly and quietly.

But Chrisjen doesn’t. She stares up at the stone ceiling, cursing her fate. If she was in Ravenclaw Tower, she could at least see the stars. If she was in Gryffindor Tower, she could see the stars too, and be where she actually _wants_ to be and with the people she actually wants to be with. Hell, if she was a Hufflepuff, at least she’d be warm.

The scornful stares of older Slytherins didn’t fade once she made it into the dormitory. The scrutiny just increased. So, she chose a random room and stayed there.

One of the other students snores. Chrisjen feels cursed. Maybe she is.

* * *

Sadavir is awed by Gryffindor Tower. His family wasn’t poor, but they didn’t lead a lavish lifestyle, either. It’s all red and gold, everywhere he looks. He’s so stunned he stops dead in his tracks, leading Esteban to crash into him.

“Oy, look where you’re going, Cadaver.”

“W...what?”

“You heard me. It’s my new nickname for you. Whaddya think, Anna?” Esteban swings his arm around Anna Volovodov, the blonde Russian girl. She shoves Esteban off of her, glaring.

“It’s clever, even if you’re not.” Anna sticks her nose in the air and heads off in the direction of some other girls.

“Why is it clever?” Sadavir asks, but he doesn’t get a response from Anna.

“It’s clever because you’re pale as a corpse.” Esteban laughs meanly.

“What should I call you? A blowhard?” Sadavir bites it out before he realizes what he’s saying.

Esteban practically body slams him to the floor. “What did you say?”

Sadavir puts his hands up as a peaceful gesture. “Nothing, nothing.”

“Good.” Esteban leaves him alone with a scoff.

Sadavir takes his toad out of its hiding place in his sleeve. “Where do you think I should go, buddy?”

The toad just stares at him in response.

Sadavir sighs, before heading to the nearest room, his name appearing on one of the little cards beside the door as he enters. And then he realizes...this is the room _Esteban_ chose.

Damn.

* * *

Arjun Rao loves Hufflepuff immediately. They’re all so warm and friendly, and the dorm is nice and warm too. Does he wish he got sorted with someone he knew? Sure, but he doesn’t know anyone at Hogwarts. Arjun is a “mudblood,” which didn’t sound good. All Arjun knows is that it sounds impolite but basically told the truth about him: His parents were muggles, and while they were delighted their son has magic, they really don’t understand the whole thing.

He sticks his nose in one of the books (extracurricular) he got at Diagon Alley and reads until his candle is gone. His roommates do not seem to mind. It’s a book about fairy tales, _real_ fairy tales, and he’s taken in by the stories of epic romance...and epic folly.

Arjun hopes he experiences the romance, not the folly. 


End file.
